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Ryn Gargulinski

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sidewalk etiquette

Rude and crude no more: Shame folks into acting courteous

Chivalry died with World War II, one of my professors used to say. He was the same man who made students take off their baseball caps in class.

One form of public humiliation at Renaissance Fair/Ryn Gargulinski
Public humiliation at Renaissance Fair/Ryn Gargulinski

Common sense’s passing is mourned in its obituary, written by Lori Borgman and first published in 1998.

But we’re still trying to figure out when simple courtesy went extinct. Regardless of its exact date of death, we do know it’s deader than the dodo bird.

We see examples all over Tucson, from bike boy and dog to sidewalk hogs, with really bad drivers and clueless jaywalkers in between.

There are two ways to deal with this frustrating situation.

We can suffer in silence, holding in the anger until we blow up on one random day and punch our fists through a window or wall.

Or we can shame folks into acting properly.

This courteous fellow kept standing up during event, giving those behind him a grand view of his sunburned scalp/Ryn Gargulinski
This courteous fellow kept standing up during event, giving those behind him a grand view of his sunburned scalp/Ryn Gargulinski

No, we can’t bring back medieval stocks and pillories – in this day and age overrun with political correctness, such devices would definitely be considered somewhat incorrect.

But we have a better tool – the Internet.

A new Violation Report website lets us rant, rave and blow off steam about discourteous behavior so we no longer have to punch our fist through a window or wall.

Check it out at http://violationreport.com

The site, although useful, is mainly for fun, says Violation Report Commissioner Grant Gold.

“Violation Report provides a bulletin board for the public shaming of discourteous people to procure a community that is more aware of the people around them. It is an entertaining outlet for stress that can be used to popularize the consideration of others and shame inattention and thoughtlessness.”

Brooklynite Gold created the site when he New York City’s Metropolitan Transit Authority, which oversees subway trains, had to enact actual laws to get people to act courteously on the trains.

Rude tomato/Ryn Gargulinski
Oh that rude tomato/Ryn Gargulinski

“Things that were once common knowledge are no longer followed by everybody (such as give up your seat to the elderly, disabled and pregnant; or crowded trains are no excuse for inappropriate touching or behavior),” Grant wrote in an e-mail.

“These are things that were obvious up to a point, and now must be mandated as rules. I thought that was a sign of something wrong in our new world of disconnectedness and I wanted to do something about it.”

While New York City may be the rude capital of the world, we’ll bet Tucson could make it in the running.

To report a violation, all we need to do is take a photo of the violation in action and upload it onto the site with a brief description.

For those who really want to get into it, the site even features courtesy manuals or tickets we can hand out to our discourteous fellows.

Just be ready to run – especially with a new Arizona law soon going into effect that lets folks carry concealed weapons without a permit.

More than 50 violations already appear on the site, reported by everyday citizens who are fed up with courtesy’s extinction.

Most of the reported violations thus far are on subway trains, but we Tucsonans can show New Yorkers we have our share of rude and crude, too.

Heck, we may be able to collect as many as 50 examples of rude motorists from one quick drive to the corner store.

[tnipoll]

Even kids know when rudeness deserves correction/Ryn Gargulinski
Even kids know when rudeness deserves correction/Ryn Gargulinski

wb-logolilWhat do you think?

Is public humiliation a good way to shame people into acting polite?

What do you do when you see someone behaving rudely?

How do you relieve stress when you’re fed up with the behavior of those around you?

Do you start random, public fights?

When was the last time you punched a wall?

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Stop sidewalk abuse with proper sidewalk etiquette

The biggest sidewalk hazards are neither the cracks in the pavement nor the gooey fat gum that sticks to our shoes. It’s the folks atop the sidewalks.

Proper sidewalk etiquette puts bikes in the street/Ryn Gargulinski
Proper sidewalk etiquette puts bikes in the street/Ryn Gargulinski

Thankfully Tucson’s sidewalks are not as clogged as those in say, Manhattan, but we do have our pockets of sidewalk abusers downtown, along Fourth Avenue and near parks or other facilities.

We’ve seen skateboarders come barreling at children – and adults – and bicyclists on sidewalks trekking so recklessly and fast they nearly knock us on our fannies.

Pedestrians that refuse to walk are another threat. These folks will stop in front of shop windows, fancy fences, a parked car – and just stand there.

Their stopping is best when it’s sudden and abrupt so we have a high chance of ramming into their backsides. Those who don’t want to walk should please sway out of the way.

Large groups that clog up the entire width of the sidewalk are one more major danger. These often consist of yelling pre-teens, distracted tourists and families of 16 with two strollers, four toddlers and a mom saddled with 32 shopping bags.

Now make the large group abruptly stop in front of a shop window, fancy fence or parked car and we’ve got ourselves the Hoover Dam. Damn.

We’ll give the rambling family some leeway, but we have to wonder if other sidewalk abusers are oblivious or just plain rude.

In either case, it would behoove them, and other sidewalk users, to play nice with some simple sidewalk etiquette rules.

We need to follow a certain sidewalk hierarchy if we all want to get along while we move along.

Piano sidewalk etiquette dictates pianos be off to the side/Ryn Gargulinski
Piano sidewalk etiquette dictates pianos be off to the side/Ryn Gargulinski

People who are simply walking on a sidewalk, of course, get top priority. Those that are walking quietly and at a steady pace are more deserving of the sidewalk than those weaving, yelling, belching or careening.

Top of the top priority heap include kids, women with children, little old ladies and anyone using a walker, wheelchair or cane. Be nice. Go around.

The second tier of sidewalk hierarchy consists of joggers, fast-paced and power walkers and the impatient. The second tier is expected to go around the first tier, but can expect those on lower tiers to go around them. We hope.

Dogs are in the murky middle area. If our dog is well-behaved and small, he has as much right on the sidewalk as any kid or little old lady.

Medium and large dogs have to be gauged by how much sidewalk room they take up and, more importantly, how they react to passers-by.

Let’s just say my two pretty beefy dogs – who like to lunge at anything moving – are steered into the street when we see anyone coming.

The dog stand-off happens when two people or more people walking dogs are about to confront each other on the sidewalk. Proper etiquette tells us the person with the larger or more obnoxious dogs should be the ones to move out of the way, leaving the sidewalk to those more civilized.

Fallen trees always get the right of way/Ryn Gargulinski
Fallen trees always get the right of way/Ryn Gargulinski

Like I said, my two beefy dogs and I usually end up moving into the street.

But we wouldn’t be too quick to move for those who are at the bottom of the sidewalk hierarchy.

Bicyclists, skateboarders and rollerbladers are the bottom feeders.

The bottom feeders include anyone who takes up way too much room, is hazardous to others or is not supposed to be on the sidewalk in the first place.

Skateboarders and rollerbladers are technically allowed on the sidewalk, but they need to cede to the hierarchy if they want to retain any modicum of respect.

And unless you’re something like 5 years old, you and your bike are really supposed to be in the street.

Actually, when we run across such sidewalk abusers, the street can be a dandy place to be.

[tnipoll]

logoWhat do you think?

Are you a sidewalk hog or do you follow proper sidewalk etiquette?

What’s the rudest sidewalk behavior you’ve witnessed?

Were you ever knocked down on a sidewalk? Did you ever knock anyone else down?

Filed Under: blogski, danger, life, stupidity Tagged With: danger, downtown tucson, fourth avenue tucson, jogging etiquette, rollerblading danger, ryn gargulinski, rynski column, sidewalk, sidewalk bottom feeders, sidewalk etiquette, sidewalk hierarchy, skateboarders sidewalk, tucson, tucson bicycles, tucson bicycling, tucson joggers, tucson pedestrians, tucson sidewalk abusers, tucson sidewalk etiquette, tucson sidewalk rules, tucson skateboard, tucson walking, twisted, walking around tucson, walking etiquette

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